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Landscape Special Interest Group June 2017 am

In this session, we looked at using 3D modeling to make various types of masonry blocks, how to make various arrays, and how to change their texture and color.

Topics Covered:

00:17 We started by looking at using 3D modeling to make bricks. We wanted a handmade brick with a “frog” or indentation on top, so the challenge was making one shape and subtracting it from the other. Once we had our shape, we turned it into a symbol. We also made a brick special, one with a 45-degree corner removed. It’s easy to use 3D modeling to make whatever brick shapes you need. In addition, using the Duplicate Array command (Edit < Linear Array < Duplicate Array) is a quick way for you to duplicate your bricks. The beauty of building them as symbols is that you can easily replace one with another. In addition, modifying the symbol easily changes all the bricks.

06:45 To build a path of soldier bricks, we first used a polyline for our path and with a right-click and the Create Objects from Shapes command turned it into a 90mm-wide pathway hardscape with a slab. However, it didn’t look like soldier bricks. Next, we tried using a polyline for our path and the Duplicate Along Path command with the brick symbol as our object. However, the bricks were lying down, so we duplicated our brick symbol and edited the 3D component to make a brick that was standing up. The location of the insertion point is crucial for this type of project because it’s the insertion point that touches the path. Swapping a horizontal brick symbol for our new vertical, we used the Duplicate Along Path command to retry creating our landscape path of soldier bricks. After changing the rotation of our 3D brick component once more, we finally had a product that could work.

13:54 Next, we looked at how to build an entry column with a concrete cap, a footing out of cinder blocks, and a mailbox imbedded in it. Our first step was to create the cinder block with a hollow cell with rounded corners on either side. With a polyline object, you can use the Reshape Tool’s Change Vertex and Fillet Point Modes to change each squared corner into a rounded one, one corner at a time. With a rectangle, you can accomplish the same thing by using the Fillet Tool. However, there’s a trick for doing all the corners at once. If you activate the Reshape Tool for the polygon or the Fillet Tool for the rectangle, hover over one edge, hold down the Option key and double click, then all the corners are changed at once. It doesn’t work on everything, but it works on some things. After subtracting the cells from the block, we had our cinder block. We made symbols of our cinder block and bond beam block.

24:52 With two cinder blocks in place, we used the Rotate Tool to make our first course. Then, using the Mirror Tool, we were able to create an alternating course. Now, we used the Duplicate Array command (Edit > Duplicate Array) to create the rest of the column. Using a combination of block symbols, the Rotation Tool or Mirror Tool, and Linear Array or Circular Array can help you to easily make many different masonry structures such as columns or walls. In addition, by using symbols, you can easily change the texture or shape of your masonry blocks without having to rebuild your structure. We made a BBQ pit! At this point, the blocks of our BBQ pit were gray and lacked texture. We looked through the Renderworks Textures in the Vectorworks Library and like the chipboard texture, so we duplicated it to make our new brick texture. However, the challenge was changing the texture’s color to some kind of red. We right-clicked on the texture to edit it. Opening up the Edit Image Color dialog, we clicked the Use Chosen Color toggle under Filter Color and chose the shade of red that we wanted. By adding this filter color, our block looked more like a brick.

39:20 Finally, we looked again at site modifiers: how moving the lawn or the top of the bank in our model affected the slope of the surrounding grade differently. You have to be very careful when you’re dealing with site modifiers. Remember that there are two types: the site modifiers that change the land and those that control the extent of the change. The red ones (pads) change the land, and the blue ones (grade limits) control the extent of the change. The relationship between the grade limit and the edge of the pad will determine how steep the slope is in between. The shapes of pads and grade limits can be modified by using the Reshape Tool. Remember, if pads or grade limits cross or overlap, you’re in trouble! If you hold the J key and click, it can make it easier to select the site modifier. After modifying our site, we used the Reshape Tool to move around and delete some of our landscaping. When working with a site, it can be helpful to make a snapshot of the site with the existing conditions and move it off to the side so that you can compare and contrast the existing and proposed models.

Landscape June 2017 am
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